Minnesota State University Reporter

Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Volleyball

Media Credit: Erin Spartz, MSU Reporter Kwikkel (10) has gone through her ups and downs at MSU and is having an exceptional senior year as a Maverick.

The Minnesota State women's volleyball team has shown off its abilities all season. The talent, leadership and work ethic are some of the main reasons why the Mavericks have been able to be near the top of the NSIC all season.

However, there is one athlete on this team who was not supposed to be here right now. Senior right-side Ally Kwikkel is in her fifth year with the Mavericks, because of an injury that ended her 2007 season. While Kwikkel may have been set back a year, she cannot imagine not being on a better team.

"This season has been so much fun," said Kwikkel. "It is a lot different than when I first got here. It has been really exciting to see how we all have played together this year."

Kwikkel, along with Kelly Sandstrom, are the only two seniors on the Mavericks this season and Kwikkel is the only who has been playing at MSU since 2005. The majority of her teammates were still competing in high school when Kwikkel put on her purple Mavericks jersey for the first time.

Kwikkel came to MSU as a promising freshman from Waverly, Iowa four years ago. She quickly began developing into a reliable player on the court, receiving playing time in 69 matches and finishing fifth on the team in kills. She continued her strong play into her sophomore year. Kwikkel played in 84 matches and started to show she was valuable on defense as well. She finished the season fifth in blocks, as continuing to increase her kill total.

Her junior year was a different story. After playing strong in her first 11 matches, Kwikkel suffered a season-ending knee injury. The injury may have ended her season, but Kwikkel showed determination to come back the next year and put up career numbers in nearly all categories.

That brought her into 2009 where she has grown to become a team-leader and well respected among everyone on the team. Mavericks head coach Dennis Amundson came to MSU the same year as Kwikkel and cannot say enough good things about the player she has become.

"Ally is a no-nonsense kid," Amundson said. "If we feel we need to correct something we can sit down with her and figure out what we need to do. She makes my job a whole lot easier."

Kwikkel has embraced her role this season and the results have been showing on the court. She is second on the team in blocks with 77 and third on the team in kills with 270. She also has a .314 hitting percentage, good for ninth in the conference.

It's Kwikkel's ability to be a leader this year that may have become her strongest attribute. She admits she isn't always the most verbal but has worked hard on adding that to her game this season. It's her ability to lead through example, though, that has most benefited the team.

Now going into her last week of the regular season, Kwikkel will continue to look to do her best to help this team make a strong postseason run. As much as the team wants to win, Kwikkel does a great job of keeping everything in perspective.

"It would be amazing to finish the season with a national championship, or just a really strong playoff run," Kwikkel said. "But if we just go out there and play as hard as we are capable of, then we will have no regrets when it's finished."

When it is all finished, one can bet Maverick volleyball will appreciate what Ally Kwikkel has brought to the program.

After losing to the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in three sets, the Mavericks will look to bounce back tonight against MSU-Moorhead at 7 p.m. in Bresnan arena.


Pat Delaney is a Reporter staff writer